Hello folks, greetings from Australia! Just wondering if any of you put hives on lavender? What are the recommended stocking rates to get a surplus? Is lavender a good yielder of nectar and pollen? Are there any special management practices I should consider? What's the honey like?

Wish I could help. Would like to have a row or two but I know of none in this area. I have seen and sampled several types of honey, no lavender. The kinds I have had, had different colors and taste but were all good. Sorry really no help. Good luck to you and your bees.

Lavender honey is a premium product if you can get a pure lavender honey. Apparently it is pretty rare outside of France. Dick Smith sells it, as does the Lavendar Farm in Tasmania. It seems that the bees do like it!

Hey Jeanette, thanks for that info! Hopefully those figures come to fruition! I inspected today and they've laid very little in surplus - I suspect they're filling brood nest stores and will then move on to storing a surplus - hopefully!

@OzBee - I'm a 'permanent traveller' with my mailing address in Toowoomba (Queensland) and Tassie in my heart. My husband and I don't have enough grey hair to qualify as 'grey nomads' yet but we have often followed their trails. At the moment, our caravan is parked in south east Queensland where the humidity of the wet season is just starting to overtake the baking heat of early summer.